Paul Heaton has hit out at the “greedy” people who won’t make gig tickets more affordable for fans, insisting that it is “doable”.
During a new interview with The Sunday Times, the soloist and former Beautiful South and Housemartins frontman spoke about capping the ticket price for his recent UK arena tour at £35 (plus booking fees).
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“I’ve got a pretty eccentric relationship with money,” he told the newspaper. “Every time I have a meeting with my accountant, he has his head in his hands. My dad was the same. It’s a self-tax, to give away what I don’t need. That’s why I kept the ticket prices down on the last tour.”
Heaton explained that he still “made a massive profit” despite keeping the cost of tickets reasonable.
“There are people out there who are greedy, who want to make sure they make a lot of money,” he continued. “And there are people like me who want to ensure fans can afford tickets in the first place.”
The singer added: “I won’t slag any other artist off because I don’t know their circumstances – but all I can say about lower prices is: if you are prepared to step off the money train, it is doable.”
Last October, Heaton said that artists needed to “be in the room” making decisions about ticket prices if they wanted to ensure “a good deal” for fans.
“Although I’m not blaming other artists, I think if you want control of that, you have to be at the meeting,” he told BBC Breakfast. “The meetings to decide ticket prices, the actual amount it costs, whether there’s dynamic pricing.
“I represent myself and my musicians, but I also feel that fans aren’t represented there. So when I go there, I always think of people I know – could they afford tickets?”
This came shortly after the issue of dynamic pricing arose amid the ticket sales for Oasis’ huge 2025 reunion tour. Last month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned that Ticketmaster may have “breached the law” and “misled fans” during these sales last summer.
The UK government had launched a consultation into the ticket re-sale market in January, aiming to “better protect fans, improve access to live events and support the growth of the UK’s world leading live events sector”.
Neil Young recently vowed never to use ‘Platinum’ ticket sales for his future tours, saying that it “did not feel right”. He also cited The Cure‘s Robert Smith‘s stance on the topic, telling fans: “I think it was right.”
Speaking to The Times last year, Smith explained that he believed ‘Platinum’ tickets and the controversial dynamic pricing scheme were a “scam” that was “driven by greed”. The frontman reasoned: “I thought, ‘We don’t need to make all this money’.
“You don’t want to charge as much as the market will let you. If people save on the tickets, they buy beer or merch. There is goodwill, they will come back next time. It is a self-fulfilling good vibe, and I don’t understand why more people don’t do it.”
Smith had previously gone up against Ticketmaster to keep The Cure ticket prices affordable. Despite succeeding with this, The Cure broke touring records in 2023 – with their North American run of dates becoming their highest-grossing tour yet, as well as being the band’s best attendance in the region.
In 2023, Paul Heaton won praise for leaving some money behind the bar at a few local pubs during the Neighbourhood Weekender festival, “as a thank you, and a small amount of help during the cost of greed crisis”. He ran a “similar process” at other solo shows across that summer.
Additionally, the musician made headlines in 2022 when he generously bought a round for patrons at 60 pubs around the UK to mark his 60th birthday. Speaking to NME about the idea afterwards, Heaton said: “It was brilliant. I expected a few people to say, ‘Oh cheers!’ – but I got video after video of people drinking, stories about people meeting new friends and talking to people all day, and it was good for the pubs.
“At the time I thought, ‘This is a bit of a silly idea’, but as it got nearer the day I knew I really wanted to do something like that. I was shocked by how much coverage it got, but also by how much people loved it. I’m just expecting for other artists to start doing it now!”
He and Jacqui Abbott had previously played a number of free gigs for NHS staff as a thank you for their efforts throughout the COVID pandemic.
Next month, Heaton will perform a huge outdoor show at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane stadium – home to his beloved Sheffield United FC. It’ll mark one of his biggest solo headline gigs to date. Lightning Seeds and Shed Seven are set to open as special guests. All tickets are priced at £39.50 (plus booking fees) – find any remaining tickets here.
In addition, Heaton is scheduled to appear at the 2025 Isle Of Wight Festival, Bearded Theory and Halifax’s Piece Hall, among other dates.
Heaton’s latest solo album, ‘The Mighty Several’, was released last October. The record was produced by Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie.
